LOS ANGELES — The search is on for a temporary home for fire-damaged Palisades Charter High School as school leaders grapple with ramping up an interim — and dreaded — online program and the families of about 2,900 students confront dislocation, loss and anxiety about their children’s education and future.

About 40% of the campus was damaged or destroyed, Principal Pamela Magee said. Although the original main campus survived, the overall condition makes it unusable, Magee said.

Parents and students are expressing a wide range of concerns as the magnitude of the closure sinks in. What would be done about approaching Advanced Placement exams? Would the school year be extended to make up for lost instructional time? What will be the impact on grades and college applications? When would sports resume? If many students enroll elsewhere, will the school lose teachers? If students left for now, would they be able to return?

Possible toxins in the melted and ashen debris could also delay a return to the campus.

“I would like not to have some toxic damage so in ten years I’m sick,” said board member Maggie Nance, who is a parent, Spanish teacher and swimming coach at the school. At the same time, she said she recognizes that students need to be back in a classroom.

“Being online was horrible for my kids mental health,” she said at a Tuesday night meeting of the school’s board of directors. She was referring to the extended online schooling period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nance added that she understood that parents might wish to enroll in another school.

“Do what’s best for you,” she said, while making a pitch for families to unite in sticking things out: “They will go through this together if they stay at the school.”

At the online meeting, board members voted to give Magee emergency powers to make crucial, time-sensitive decisions.

Pali High is a popular, independent charter school — with its own board of directors — that uses the longstanding campus owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Pali is essentially a neighborhood school for an enclave of expensive homes nestled uphill from the Pacific Ocean. Because Pali is a charter school, students outside the attendance area can apply to attend via lottery. The high-achieving school is 51% white and 24% Latino. About 27% of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch because of low family income.

While the campus buildings are unremarkable the grounds are spacious, green and maintained at a level that exceeds many of the city’s other public high schools.

In an online post this week, Pali’s leaders announced what they are seeking in a temporary location:

— Classroom spaces or campuses available for lease or donation

— Large indoor and outdoor spaces suitable for hosting students and teachers

— Support from local organizations that can assist in logistics and operations

— Volunteers to help with moving, setup, and coordination

— Access to athletic practice areas in the vicinity

Stress over logistics, online classes

A lot of parents are looking into private-school options and are under the stress of meeting deadlines for those applications, said Niloo Farhadian, the parent of an 8th grader, who would be at the school next year.

“Is there any possibility we might be back on campus?” she asked.

“We are really hoping not to have to change schools,” said one mother. She wanted to see photos of the school to see what was damaged and what was not.

Officials later scrolled through a slideshow of such images.

Parents also are concerned about logistics.

The parent of a junior wanted to know about replacements for school laptops destroyed when homes burned to the ground. And what about internet?

The school promised that computers would be replaced and internet hotspots would be provided — starting as soon as Thursday. Administrators are trying to determine where best to set up a distribution site— as families are scattered.

Online instruction begins next Tuesday, January 21. The spring semester had been scheduled to begin July 13.

“I completely understand the delay,” one parent said. “I simply have a panicked teen at home feeling very disconnected.”

There were significant concerns about moving to online learning.

When her daughter was online in middle school during the pandemic, said Cat Benner, “several of her teachers decided not to show up.” She wanted reassurance that this would not happen.

Teacher Stephanie Moore responded: “We want to have rigor. We don’t want to overwhelm our kids but we want to do our due diligence.”

A senior sent in a comment about the toll of learning online:

“I struggled immensely. I dealt with depression, suicidal thoughts. I felt like I couldn’t function mentally and academically. Returning to campus was a critical part of my recovery, and being able to succeed in school again. My Fs became straight As when I came back on campus. Being able to interact with my friends in person has been my lifeline during some of the hardest moments of my life. Their support and presence have carried me through when nothing else could, and right now, I need that more than ever. Now, with the damage to the school, I feel like that progress is slipping away.”

This student urged a fast-turnaround solution.

“If only some of the buildings are gone, why can’t we clear the debris instead of temporary structures to replace the lost classrooms? There’s space on the quad and around the campus to erect these structures quickly. They can go up in a matter of days.”

Magee tried to be reassuring.

The school has moved forward with applications for emergency funding, she said.

“We’re out there looking at other potential locations for our school,” Magee said. “We have some very good leads.”

Assessing the toll

“We know our enrollment is going to shift,” Magee said, and that some students will enroll elsewhere. “But we are trying to keep our campus together as much as possible.”

At least 11 staff members lost their home. At least 14 others were displaced. Despite such hardships, 120 staff members attended a planning meeting in Beverly Hills, with another 30 on Zoom.

Because it is largely a neighborhood school, Pali High possibly has huge numbers of families who were evacuated or lost homes.

Three or four board members lost their homes, including Kumars Arzani, who was dialing into the meeting from Tarzana. He jumped in with ideas for recovery, without belaboring his personal hardships.

Many speakers talked of being ready to help to raise money and volunteer. The school has a fund established.

“Our school is a living breathing entity,” Magee said. “It’s not just a location... We are going to get through this tough moment.”

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